Sale pending for stalled retirement complex in Waterloo
WATERLOO — A Lexington Road property has been conditionally sold after a stalled project to build a retirement living complex there was placed in receivership earlier this year.
The project known as The Uptown or The Uptown Suites was a redevelopment of the former Pinehaven Retirement Residence site; that facility was torn down as the project commenced. The adjacent Pinehaven Nursing Home, a separate business operated by Schlegel Villages, remains open but was expected to be redeveloped in a latter stage of The Uptown project.
Fencing surrounds the construction site, where excavation and foundation work was underway for the project’s first phase before halting several months ago. Models of the planned buildings and floor plans are visible through the dust-covered windows of the adjacent presentation centre.
According to court documents, property owner Deem Management Services and general contractor and financial partner The Maxion Group intended to construct three buildings in three phases — a six-storey building with 95 seniors’ apartments and 95 assisted living suites plus underground parking; an eightstorey, 140-unit building; and another eight-storey building with 173 units and 6,000 square feet of commercial and retail space. The project has undergone some design changes since it was originally approved by the City of Waterloo back in 2013.
Work halted earlier this year; shortly after various service providers registered construction liens totalling more than $7.6 million against the title to the property. Court documents also show that more than $20 million in mortgages and loans had been registered against the property. Attempts to find an equal equity partner to allow the project to continue weren’t successful; efforts were then launched to find a buyer for the property and project. A receiver was appointed by the court in May.
A conditional sale of the property and the assets related to the Uptown project was approved by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice last week; the deal could close next month. While the prospective buyer’s plans for the site aren’t yet known, court documents indicate that an estimated $19.7 million had already been spent on the project in construction costs and fees, charges and municipal permits.
A new buyer assumes the property and project free and clear; proceeds from the sale are held by the receiver or a trustee, who administers the claims process for creditors.
The adjacent Pinehaven Nursing Home, operated by Schlegel Villages, remains in operation, but the company’s CEO said those long-term care beds will eventually be moved to a brandnew facility. Schlegel Villages leases the Pinehaven space from Deem Management Services but owns the bed licences.
While a location hasn’t been chosen, James Schlegel said it will likely be in Waterloo and would include signature Schlegel Villages features like the town square and main street concept connecting different amenities.
The 84 long-term care beds currently at Pinehaven will be redeveloped into a “state-of-theart home” at a new site, he said. “It’s going to be the anchor of a new village with those other living choices for seniors.”